On the formation of hot spots in wet clutch systems

A comprehensive model is developed for analyzing the onset of thermoelastic instability in a wet clutch. For this purpose, appropriate governing equations are derived that take into account the porosity and deformability of the friction material. The effect of the thickness of the separator disk and that of the friction material are also included. The model is general and can be used to describe TEI in a variety of other systems such as in a mechanical seal, as a special case. A series of simulations are presented that predict the thermoelastic behavior of a wet clutch from an instability viewpoint.